Kamaitachi
by Lu-chan11
Summary: He lived each stage of his life as a different person, and you've been there with him through it all. If you know one thing about Sakata Gintoki, it's that his eyes have never changed. Gintoki X Reader
1. Introduction

He'd had that lazy look plastered to his face for as long as you could remember, ever since you first met him. It was like a mask to you. His way of pretending not to care. But you had been around him long enough to know that he did, in fact, have a heart, and that he was capable of showing vulnerability. Even if his face didn't show it, his others gestures gave it away. An almost invisible tremble in his hand, the slight hitch in his step. You could read him in between the lines, and at the same time, you knew he could read you too.

There were times when he lost his cool, rare occasions when his resolve completely fell apart. You hated to see him like that. You secretly depended on his indifference and dirty jokes to keep you together. You had seen every side of him, every secret. His anger, his happiness, his sorrow, his love. He held the burden of regret and pain on his shoulders, and it was one you shared with him.

People wondered when you two first met. It seemed that from the start you were always together. And even when you did separate, you always somehow managed to find each other again. The silver haired boy and the samurai girl. Shiroyasha and Kamaitachi. It had always been that way. And it would always stay like that.


	2. Chapter 1

The sun shone on the walls of a small country school. Boys were milling around on the deck surrounding the building, waiting for their sensei to arrive. One had propped himself on a pole, and fallen asleep. A rustle from behind the bushes alerted the wanderers, who immediately looked up with bright smiles, ready to greet their teacher. They were shocked to see a young girl limp out from behind the branches with hands covered in blood.

"I-It's a ghost!" screamed one of the boys, jumping back to hide behind his friends. The others backed away from the bloodstained girl, whose gaze remained trained on her feet. The sleeping boy opened an eye and watched her with disinterest. He'd seen far too much blood to be shocked.

Then, the girl looked up, and his one eye widened as he watched her. She was crying. "I-I'm so sorry," she choked before falling out cold onto the grass. As the red began to seep into green, and panicked shouts erupted, Gintoki knew she hadn't meant those words for any of them.

* * *

You woke up in a brightly lit room with a soft blanket covering your body. Your hands reached up to touch your face and you found that multiple bandages had been placed onto your skin. You glanced at your hands when you lifted them off of your face, inspecting them. The blood was gone. The memory of an enraged man flashed through your mind and you quickly squeezed your eyes shut to block it out.

"It's ok," a gentle voice said from somewhere nearby, "Don't be afraid." Surprised, you opened your eyes and turned your head to face the source. You found a longhaired man sitting a few feet from your bed and sat up instantly. The movement sent a white-hot pain through your side. You winced as you held your waist.

"Careful," he warned, coming over to help you lie back down on your sheets, "you'll hurt yourself."

"Where am I?" you asked him once you were situated, "Is…is he here?"

The man smiled at you warmly. "I don't know who 'he' is, but whoever this person may be, he's not here. It's just you and me."

"I'm (Name)," you told him.

He didn't seem too surprised at your statement. He only smiled and asked, "Do you have a last name?"

"No," you said softly, "Just (Name)."

He patted your head and tucked you in, getting up after and walking to the door. "Well (Name)-chan, you're safe here," he said, looking back at you.

"Ano," you stopped him just before he left, "Who are you?"

"Please call me Shoyo-sensei."

* * *

Three days had passed since you fell onto the lawn of Shoyo-sensei's school. Since then, most of your injuries had healed and you found yourself rather bored as you sat on the deck outside your room all day, watching the clouds. It turned out he had put you in one of the back rooms of the school, coming in every day to bring you food and water. You wondered about his school. What did he teach? Who were his students? Despite your curiosity you were still nervous to leave the room Sensei had put you in. You didn't want to accidentally interrupt a class.

But after a while, the boredom began to get to you, and you finally decided to take a look around the school. You put on your kimono, which had been scrubbed clean of bloodstains by Shoyo-sensei, and quietly hopped out of your room. You walked along the wooden floorboards of the deck that bordered a neat flower garden. A small koi pond sat in a secluded corner of the garden, surrounded by a miniature rock mountain.

"What is the Samurai way?" Shoyo-sensei's familiar voice floated through the open doors of a small country classroom. You moved closer to a tree that stood between you and the doorway, hiding yourself from most eyes as you watched Shoyo-sensei teach.

"From here on, wield the sword not to strike down enemies, but to strike down your own weak self. Wield it not to protect yourself, but to protect your own soul," he continued. The eyes of all students were focused on him. You noted two particularly intrigued individuals. One of them sat near the front of the room, his hair pulled back into a ponytail. His entire body seemed to shiver with excitement as he watched his teacher. The second was a slightly less exuberant, but his eyes reflected the same fire you had seen in the first boy. He had short purple hair and dark green eyes…eyes that reminded you of a sharp sword.

Something flashed in your peripheral vision. Something silver. You focused full attention on what had caught your eye. It was him. You recognized him as the boy who'd been watching you just before you passed out. It was odd. He seemed to be the only person you remembered from that day. There was something about him then that you couldn't exactly put your finger on, and the feeling was returning to you now as well. You realized suddenly that he was looking at you too. His red brown eyes focused on your own. They were lazy and bored, and he didn't seem to be paying much attention to what Shoyo-sensei was saying.

You blinked when he smiled at you. Surprised, you missed your chance to smile back, as the boy averted his gaze to a butterfly that happened to be flying past. _'What an odd guy.'_

* * *

You didn't know how it happened, but it did. You managed to convince Shoyo-sensei into letting you join the class. Most of the other boys ignored you, or sent you strange looks. They weren't very fond of the idea that a girl had joined them. Samurai were men. But there was nothing they could do about it. You had no place to go, and Shoyo-sensei wasn't exactly going to kick you out.

As for the three boys you saw on the first day, you finally figured out their names. The one with the ponytail was Katsura Kotaro (though more commonly referred to as 'Zura'). The purple haired one was Takasugi Shinsuke (you liked to call him Shin-chan). And the silver haired natural perm was Sakata Gintoki. They were Shoyo-sensei's favorite students. You understood how Katsura and Takasugi fell under that category, but you could not figure out how the lazy Gin got on the list.

"Sakata, wake up you idiot," Takasugi nudged him, "Sensei's talking."

"Shut up," Gintoki drawled, "You're too loud."

You bought your fist crashing down onto his curly head. "There, now you can sleep forever," you say bluntly.

"Oi, what was that for?" Gintoki grimaced, rubbing the spot where you hit him.

Takasugi snorted and crossed his arms, trying to hide the satisfied smirk that was beginning to form on his face.

"Ah. Shin-chan, you're smiling," you pointed out with a deadpan tone, and he shot you a glare.

"Stop it will you?" Katsura hissed at the three of you, "Do you want to be Samurai or not?"

"Zura, be quiet," Gintoki ordered, "Sensei's talking."

"Wait, why are you pushing the blame to me? AND IT'S NOT ZURA, IT'S KATSURA!"

You smiled to yourself as you watched them fight, even after Sensei came over to stop them. Shouts of "Takasugi teme","Gintoki you bastard", and "Zura you idiot" filled the air as you leaned back against the wall. These were your boys, and this was your life. You hoped nothing would ever change that.

* * *

Your wish never came true. It wasn't long before they came, before they took Shoyo-sensei and burned down his school. Before all four of you vowed to save your teacher. The first time you stepped onto the battlefield your hands would not stop shaking. As the Amanto surrounded you and Gintoki, you almost regretted joining the war.

But then the image of your burning school flashed through your mind's eye, and at that moment your hands stopped trembling. Your eyes grew hard, and your feet stood firm. The first Amanto rushed forward and you cut him down without a slightest bit of hesitation.

_"Hold your sword. Raise it above your head. Carry your entire soul within it…" _you thought as you slashed and drove the blade down into bodies of your enemies.

Beside you, Gintoki fought just as hard. You knew exactly what he was thinking, the reason why his sword didn't stop moving. And as the two of you stood back to back, standing in a clearing formed by the bodies of fallen Amanto, you looked at each other with an expression that could only be read as "Protect."

* * *

A/N The next chapter will be focusing on the Joui War. There'll be a little more character interaction, and hopefully longer than this one. Thank you for reading 3


	3. Chapter 2

_The sound of clashing metal filled the air. The smell of blood and dying screams surrounded you as you swung your sword in a deadly silver arc. One down. Two down. Three down. Sakamoto fought by your side, his usual goofy grin replaced by a terrifyingly serious look._

_ This was the world you lived in. One of death, and falling comrades. Already today, you'd failed to save countless friends from the blades of the enemy. It happened all the time, every single moment you were locked in combat. People died, men were killed young, and children were left fatherless._

_ By now, most samurai would have moved on and accepted this fact. Others would've gone mad. However, you remained haunted by the shocked expressions of every fallen warrior's face. You could've saved them._

_ Taking a deep breath, you prepared yourself for a new onslaught of Amanto. They charged at you with alien weapons that you'd never seen before. Driven by the thoughts of those you'd lost, without a moment's hesitation your sword swung in a dangerous curve that took out a row of Amanto. You kicked your feet above you, doing a flip in the air over the rest of the group, moving your katana in criss-cross patterns. As you landed on the other side, blood exploded from the chest of every enemy that had faced you. You didn't look back, carrying your sword as you stood your ground against the next surge of Amanto. You didn't notice the eyes of your comrades focus on your fight. You never saw the looks of admiration and fear. You were a lone samurai girl who took down enemies row after row like a whirlwind, a dangerous tornado that fought for the sake of protecting alone._

_ Kamaitachi, they called you_

* * *

It was sunny. You gazed up at the brilliant blue sky that seemed to be laughing at you. "How cruel," you muttered to no one in particular, "It's as if Kami-sama expects us to think that we're fighting in vain."

"Kami-sama can't do anything." You turned your head to see Takasugi walking towards you. His hair was tousled and dirty, and dried bloodstains on his jacket from the previous battle remained unwashed. He looked much more like a mess than a Samurai, but really at that point no one bothered to keep clean.

"Oh, Shin-chan," you greeted him with a sheepish smile, "I didn't think anyone was listening."

He sat down next to you on the bank of a small stream, located not too far from the Joui campsite, laying his sword down on the ground beside him. "This world's a rotten place."

"It's the war that's rotten," you said, casually tossing a stone into the clear water. Takasugi's gaze followed the sinking rock. "The world was meant to be difficult."

"Not when Sensei was here," Takasugi muttered darkly, eyes still on the rock, "Now it's no better than shit."

You raised your eyebrow at his statement. "You're fighting to save him then? That's all?"

"Of course," he shoot you an icy stare, "You should be too."

"I'm protecting others as well…my friends, you included. Sensei wanted us to be strong, didn't he? We can't just hate the world because he's not here with us now." You were worried about Takasugi lately. Ever since you joined the war, his demeanor had changed. You always knew how easy it was for him to turn cold, and push others away, but it was becoming more and more apparent every day. His hatred was growing stronger, and you were forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines.

"Keep up the good work…_comrade_," he said while getting up. There was a glint in an eye that unsettled you, and you frowned at unnecessary emphasis he added to the last word. "I'll bring down this foul place, and I'll kill everything that took away what was mine."

He picked up his sword and stalked away, and your eyes narrowed at his retreating figure. _"Takasugi, you idiot…what the hell are you thinking?" _

* * *

You returned to camp late in the afternoon, having sat by the stream most of the day. You hadn't done anything productive—just stared at the clear blue sky while thinking about your conversation with Takasugi. Katsura greeted you when you got back.

"There you are, (Name), we've been looking for you all day." He walked over to you with his arms crossed, "It's not honorable for a Samurai to just disappear, you know."

You knew it wasn't actually a rule. Katsura just liked to tie everything with honor, and the Samurai way. You weren't really in the mood to argue though, so you just nodded and proceeded back to your tent. The longhaired man watched you go with a slightly worried look. You weren't usually so quiet.

* * *

Gintoki caught you later that night, sitting alone by the campfire. Most of the others had gone to bed already, but you had stayed there and watched the flames eat away at the last bits of wood.

"Oi, what's up with that look?" he asked you, sitting down beside you, "You look like someone who walked into a bookstore and found out all there were only Akamaru Jump left."

"It's nothing," you said indifferently, eyes not moving from the fire. He just shrugged and lay himself down on the ground next to you, picking his nose and staring at the star studded sky.

"Ne…Gintoki," you murmured softly, and he stopped picking for a moment to look at you, "What do you think we're going to do when this is all over?"

"I don't care," he told you with a nonchalant expression on his face, "As long as I can buy strawberry milk and parfaits."

You laughed a little at his comment and lay down beside him. "You'll probably be dirt poor," you smiled, "And I'll have to buy those for you—oh, and pay the rent too."

"Oi, oi, what time of useless old man do you think I am?" he grinned at you.

"One that plays pachinko and has a high blood pressure."

The two of you laughed together and watched the stars, even after the fire burned out. He always knew how to make you smile.

* * *

"You little scoundrels just keep fighting, don't you?" The Amanto sneered at you, Gintoki, Takasugi and Katsura.

"Don't make me laugh," you spat, and you heard the other three shifting into fighting positions from beside you.

"Oh? The Joui are sending little girls to the battlefield? They must be desperate."

Your grip tightened around your katana. "This little girl is going to rip your head off," you told him through gritted teeth.

The Amanto let out an ugly laugh. "Don't get too excited. I'm just here to make a delivery," he threw something covered by a white cloth to the ground, "Enjoy our little present."

As the messenger rode off, Takasugi moved forward to untie the cloth. All three of you took a step back when you saw what was inside.

"Sh-Shoyo-sensei!" Katsura cried, his eyes wide with shock.

"Those bastards…" Takasugi muttered, clenching his fist, "That was the last straw."

Gintoki stared at the head of his beloved sensei, and you watched the rage flicker in his red-brown orbs. You felt that same anger course through your body as you knelt down beside your teacher. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you," you said in a hoarse whisper.

"I'll kill them." You didn't look up when you heard Takasugi's voice. It shook violently with fury and bitterness. "I'll kill them all."

* * *

After the war, you all went your separate ways. Sakamoto went off to fulfill his dream as a captain, while Katsura swore to rekindle the Joui fire. Takasugi didn't speak to anyone when he left. He just picked up his sword and walked away, not stopping to look back when you called his name. Gintoki left his katana in the abandoned camp, and made his way to the city, where you supposed he planned on starting a new life.

"What are you going to do, (Name)-chan, ahahahaha?" Sakamoto asked you before he left.

"I'm not sure," you shrugged, "Probably wander around the countryside. It's beautiful there."

"Ahahahaha, well I suppose we're parting ways then?"

"Yeah," you smiled, "This is goodbye."

* * *

A/N: No worries, it's not actually goodbye ;) Sorry it's so short though, I know I said I would try to make it longer (ahahahahaha…/shot). I'll probably end up keeping them this length though. Well I hope you liked it! I'd love to hear any suggestions, thoughts or criticisms you might have ^^ Thank you for reading~


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok, so this takes place a bit before Sadaharu and Elizabeth join the cast, around the time Kagura first appeared. Just keep that in mind when you read this ^^

* * *

It had been raining in Kabuki District for a whole week. The three members of Yorozuya remained in the upper half of the building they shared with Otose, not willing to go outside. Kagura was sprawled on the couch, chewing on a piece of Sukonbu, while Gintoki had fallen asleep in his chair with the newest issue of Jump covering his face. Shinpachi muttered something about laziness and unpaid rent as he moved around the apartment with a broom in hand.

A knock on the door alerted them, and Shinpachi quickly ran over to open it. Gintoki rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn. "We have a customer on an ugly day like this? What do they think it is? Independence Day (1) or something?"

"Eh, Gin-chan, it's Independence Day?" Kagura asked, sitting up, "We forgot the fireworks!"

"Baka, who'd even watch fireworks when it's raining? Did someone fireworks off in your head?" Gintoki complained.

"Your head's the one that looks like someone set fireworks to it, stupid perm," Kagura deadpanned, "Shut up and go back go sleep."

A cough from the doorway stopped their fighting. Shinpachi stood with a disapproving look on his face, followed by a cloaked figure wearing a large rice hat. "Will you two be quiet? We just managed to get a customer and you're scaring her away." The person stepped out from behind Shinpachi and took off her hat.

"Ano…I saw the sign, and I was wondering if you had any food to spare?" you said, rubbing the back of your head, then stopped when you saw Gintoki. His eyes widened at the sight of your face and the Jump in his hand fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"(Name)?" Gintoki asked, while shouts of "EH?!" exploded from Shinpachi and Kagura.

* * *

You sat in a bar next to the silver haired man with a cup of sake in front of you. "I never expected to find you here," you told him ask as you swirled the liquid in your cup.

"I didn't expect you to turn up on my doorstep begging for food," he replied, taking a sip.

"I wasn't begging," you defended, "Just…asking politely to be fed."

"That's definitely begging."

You sighed. "Fine, fine. But it's not like you ended up having food anyway. Your fridge is about as empty as your head."

"Oi, I'm the one paying for the sake here," he drawled. You laughed a little at the expression on his face.

"Still the lazy old Samurai?" you smiled.

"Something like that," he said, his expression softening a bit.

You reached over to pour some more sake into his cup. "So you've been in the city this whole time then?" you questioned.

"Yeah. And what about you? Finding your inner self in the countryside?"

"I helped rebuild a couple of the villages that had been destroyed during the war," you explained, "and stopped by a few dojo along the way. The Amanto did quite a bit of damage."

Gintoki raised an eyebrow but didn't ask anymore. "Hey, I saw Zura recently," he informed you.

"Really?" you perked up, interested to hear how your old friend was doing, "How's his Joui rebellion coming along?"

"It's a pain, to be honest," he frowned, "They're running all over the place dragging innocent Gin-san into bombing situations."

"Oh, I heard about those," you chuckled, "I find it amusing that you were behind it."

"What are you, a sadist? Honestly," he complained. The door of the bar opened and five men walked in. You and Gintoki watched them for a moment, but then returned to your conversation, disinterested.

"I saw Tatsuma," you said, "He was doing pretty well when I saw him."

"Sakamoto Tatsuma?" Gintoki looked at you with a disbelieving expression, "No one decided to kill him yet?"

"Nope, not yet," you smiled and took a sip of sake, "He hasn't changed at all. It's really been a while since I last had contact with you guys though. I suppose Takasugi's the only one we haven't heard from yet?"

"I doubt he's up to anything good." You opened your mouth to reply, but just as you were about to speak a large crash alerted you. You turned around to see the five men who had walked into the bar before had surrounded you and Gintoki.

"(Last Name, First Name)," the tallest of the five, who you supposed was the leader sneered, "It took us long enough to find you."

You raised your eyebrow. They sure did look familiar, but you couldn't really remember their names. They were most likely small fry that you'd run into and defeated while in the countryside. "And who might you be?" you wondered, still seated calmly in your chair. From beside you Gintoki hadn't moved either.

"You're quite forgetful, little lady," the man snarled as he brought his right fist into the palm of his left hand, "We're here to get our revenge."

"What a pain," you sighed, standing up and cracking your neck, "You lot are persistent aren't you? Well I suppose I have to get rid of you before you kill me. Troublesome." You turned to Gintoki who had just begun to stand up. "I'll take 'em," you smirked, and without waiting for his reply you pulled out the sheathed sword from your sash and swung it into the side of the first gangster.

The man flew into one of his cronies and the two hit the ground with a bang, followed by a loud 'oof.' The other customers in the bar ran away quickly to avoid the fight, and one of them shouted, "She's got a sword!" on the way out.

"Tch," you muttered. The police would be there any moment. The third gangster aimed his fist at your face, which you dodged easily. From below, you swept his feet off balance and he toppled back into the first two gangsters who had just begun to recover. The last two men faced you, both drawing knives from their belts. They advanced cautiously and you gave them the credit of being slightly less stupid than their friends. Then one attacked and you sidestepped while grabbing his wrist, twisting it hard enough for him to drop his weapon, which you caught skillfully. Using the stolen knife, you blocked the blade of the other gangster. With a flick of your wrist you successfully disarmed him and without a moment's hesitation, grabbed both of their heads and smashed them into the ground.

"Let's get out of here," you ordered, turning to Gintoki as you stuck your sword back into the sash of your kimono, "The police will be here soon." He nodded and the two of you ran out of store together.

"Did you know them?" he wondered as the two of you rushed along the streets of Kabuki.

You nodded. "I'll explain when we're back at your place."

By the time you returned to Gintoki's apartment it was already late. Shinpachi opened the door when you got back with a disapproving look on his face. "Gin-san, where've you been? We have a customer."

"Customer?" Gintoki asked with disbelief, "at this time of day?"

"Actually," Shinpachi began, crossing his arms, "He's already been here for two hours."

"Huh? What kind of idiot waits to get help for two hours?" the silver haired man inquired.

"It's not idiot, it's Katsura," the familiar voice floated in from the living room, "I see your late as usual, Gintoki."

Your eyes widened when you heard the voice, and you quickly ran into the living room. "Zura!" you shout with joy with you see the longhaired man, "I can't believe it's you!"

"It's not Zura, it's—" Katsura began, and then stopped when he recognized you. "(Name)? (Last Name, First Name)?"

You nodded with a bright smile on your face. "Yeah, it's me!"

"Eh, (Nickname)-chan, you know Zura too?" Kagura asked from her spot on the opposite couch.

"The world is a small place," Gintoki said as he walked into the living room with Shinpachi. Then he turned to look at you, "By the way, (name), are you going to explain who those guys were?"

"What guys?" Shinpachi asked with a confused expression.

"A couple of thugs we ran into at the bar," you answered. Then, leaning against the wall you began to explain. "At first I didn't recognize them, but then I realized who they were. I ran into them a while back when I was helping to rebuild a dojo. They'd come to bully the man in charge of the dojo for money. I caught them before they could do anything and beat them up, so I guess that's why they came for revenge. But it's strange," you frowned, "They would have to be pretty dedicated to have followed me all this way." You took out the knife you confiscated and showed it to the others, "And this isn't a weapon normal thugs carry around."

Katsura's eyes widened when he saw the knife. "Those gangsters were carrying that?" he questioned with an alarmed expression.

You nodded. "Yeah, I thought it was odd too. Have the Joui been supplying any gangs recently?"

"No, not the Joui. But I've heard rumors that the Harusame have. And that knife is without a doubt one of theirs," Katsura replied.

"H-harusame?" Shinpachi exclaimed, "You mean the Space Pirates?"

"Yeah, that's them," Katsura muttered seriously, "Actually, I came to you today to ask you a favor regarding them."

"As long as it doesn't require bombing buildings," Gintoki said.

Katsura crossed his arms and looked down. "Recently I sent in a couple of spies to infiltrate the Harusame. Two weeks ago we noticed some strange behavior and wanted to investigate them. We've were receiving reports on a daily basis until three days ago. I'm worried that the enemy may have captured our spies, and I was hoping you could help us. If we leave this unsolved, all of Edo might be affected," he explained.

Gintoki sighed. "It looks like you're trying to drag me into your crazy Joui schemes again? Now no one's going to believe I'm a model citizen anymore."

"But Gin-san, consider the consequences!" Shinpachi argued, "If what Katsura-san's saying is true we might all be danger."

"Gintoki! Are you a Samurai, or not?" Katsura shouted after him. You remained where you were as you watched the perm carefully.

He ignored his subordinate and old comrade as he scratched the back of his head. Opening the door, he stopped to look back at the rest of you. "Oi, hurry up you guys," he said in his usual lazy tone. You smiled and followed him without any questions, confident in the silver haired man.

Kagura jumped down from the couch. "Gin-chan, where are we going?"

Gintoki grinned at her. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to blow up some pirates."

A/N:

(1) Independence day is a reference to the mini episode where Kagura gets a new umbrella. It's kind of vague so that's why I footnoted it

Arc 1 begins! I have a second one planned, but think of this as you introduction to Yorozuya~ Depending on how I feel I may write one or two more arcs after the two I have planned. Either that or just a couple of drabbles to fill in some details I haven't been able to reach yet. Again, thank you so much for reading! Your support warms my heart ^^


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